For the last week or so, I've been working on a dream recall technique that I've had great success with from the first try. The extra nice thing about this technique is that it helps recalling dreams you have already had, so no preparations are required. Even though the technique works great for me, I don't know how well it works for others. I'll first explain the technique by describing how I do it:
I can do this technique any time of the day, though it's probably not a good idea to do when tired, or I'll just fall asleep. I lie down in a comfortable position, in a relative quiet place. It's ok if there is some noise around, as long as it doesn't break my concentration. I close my eyes and start counting my breaths, relaxing my body a little more with each breath. If I lose my count, I just start from 1. When I lose count often, I know I'm close to the state of consciousness that I want to reach. My goal is to reach hypnagogia, but to not fall asleep. Once I feel relaxed and detached from myself (My body tends to feel numb, though not like when close to or in SP), I start to focus on my task. In my mind, I ask myself: 'what did I dream last night?' If I remember a fragment, I bring it up in my memory. I focus on the visual memory that I have so far, if I have one. The dream scene appears as HI. I watch the scene unfold, as I focus on it, more and more of my dream memory comes back to me. Even little details that I had forgotten, return to me. Once I'm done with one dream, I keep going through my memory, bringing new dream memories back to life as HI, even dreams that I had completely forgotten after waking up. Once I'm done, I slowly let myself come out of it by wiggling my fingers and toes a little (I'm not paralysed, in case you wondered), then I stretch and open my eyes. Not only does this technique help me bring back dreams that I had forgotten, I also gain energy and feel refreshed after coming out of it. I also eases my anxiety.
Now, I don't know if this technique is as effective when it comes to remembering non lucid dreams. I also think this technique might be easiest for those who are decent at WILDs, because that is about recognising the hypnagogic state. This technique is similar to WILDing, you just don't need SP or actually falling asleep and entering a dream. With that, you can use any relaxation technique that you prefer to use, if counting breaths isn't doing it for you. I also believe this technique is similar to image streaming, something I don't know much of, but I have seen it mentioned on DV.
Please share thoughts, comments and experiences, and ask if you have any questions.
